Fireball E-mail comes with a lot of marketing hype, and big promises. But, are those big promises going to pay off for purchasers?

And, has the product jeopardized its credibility with a "sneaky marketing trick?"

I loose confidence in a product when I suspect that the promoter needs to use a sneaky trick to get me to buy.

The program promises to create a viral E-mail system similar to Google’s Gmail. This software then can then provide free E-mail to people that sign up. Then, the outgoing mail has a branded message similar to the branding that HotMail made famous.

Sounds good, so far…

But, here is the sneaky part.

The product launch was suppose to offer only 500 copies. (Create scarcity.)

But, lots of affiliates were signed up. (The affiliates receive 50% commission.)

So, who is going to promote a product where only 500 copies are sold for half of $147?

Answer: Not many, but what if the 500 copies is only a ploy?

Here is a extract image from an E-mail message that I received on 7-22-09. (The sender’s name has been blocked out in case they didn’t know what is going on.)

And, here is what the sales page said.

Notice that I have to act at once.

But, what happens if you link today, 7-23-09?

Seems like the offer is still available. Maybe I’ll consider buying tomorrow?

Or maybe I won’t!

As I said, I loose confidence in a product when I suspect that the promoter needs to use a sneaky trick to get me to buy.

It is difficult to see how this product is "sold out" when a script is running, and it is difficult to believe that this sneaky strategy was unplanned. The reason: it is running a date script… that inserts the current date into the sales page:

As far as the script itself, the script does send and receive E-mail messages, and does provide Google AdSense ads to users.

But, if the product were truly viral, at one Gigabyte (1 GB) of mail storage, the product could violate the "Terms of Service" of your Web Hosts.

I checked with my Web Host, HostGator, and the installation of Fireball Mail didn’t seem to be against their "Terms of Service," as long as the folks that sign up for the free accounts do not use those accounts to send SPAM. (You’re in for a real hassle if they do!)

Other violations of your Web Host’s "Terms of Service" are to use the system to distribute pornography, viruses or materials that infringe on other people’s copyrights.

Another caution is ensuring that minors do not sigh up for one of these free E-mail accounts without parental permission.

The Fireball Mail test system was noticeably slower than Gmail, even when the software has a minimal load as a "demo system."

Summary: The software does what it says it does, so there shouldn’t be a need to employ sneaky tricks to market and sell it. And, although marketers might have a use for yet another free E-mail system, it is difficult to imagine that others would find such a system useful when Gmail, Yahoo Mail and Live/ HotMail are so well established.

The problem? Sneaky marketing tricks deflate credibility for this product.